Zhou Xun Looks Beyond Borders

The actress Zhou Xun took her first step into English-language cinema with “Cloud Atlas,” joining some of Hollywood’s biggest names in the adaptation of David Mitchell’s 2004 multilayered novel.

In the movie, which has been rolling out slowly world-wide since its North American premieres last fall, she plays a clone in a futuristic dystopia, as well as two other roles in the film from “Matrix” makers Andy and Lana Wachowski, and “Run Lola Run” director Tom Tykwer. Co-stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon and other Hollywood heavyweights also take on multiple roles.

The $100 million epic, with its interconnecting story lines spanning several centuries, received a lukewarm reception in the U.S., where it earned just $27.1 million, according to Box Office Mojo. It opened, with about 30 minutes shaved off its nearly three-hour running time, on Jan. 31 in mainland China, where it pulled in an unspectacular but still respectable 69.8 million yuan ($11.2 million) in its first four days of release, according to media-research firm EntGroup Inc.

“Cloud Atlas” offers Ms. Zhou a rare opportunity for an Asian actress to gain the attention of a wider international audience. She shot to acclaim in 2000 for her role in “Suzhou River,” a broken modern-day love story. In China, she achieved blockbuster success with “Painted Skin” (2008), a fantasy-horror story, and “The Message” (2009), an espionage thriller set in the 1940s during the Japanese occupation.

Ms. Zhou has since cemented her position as one of China’s most accomplished actresses. She took home the Asian Film Awards’ best-actress trophy in 2009 for “The Equation of Love and Death,” playing a taxi driver searching for her missing boyfriend. Last week, she nabbed two of the five best-actress nominations in this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards for the Chinese-language movies “The Great Magician” and “The Silent War.”

Ms. Zhou spoke with the Journal at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where she was enjoying the clean air of the Swiss Alps and testing the water for one of her own social policy innovations.

The Wall Street Journal: What appealed to you about “Cloud Atlas”?

Ms. Zhou: I’m a Buddhist. The message of the film is that the choices that you make affect the future of the world. That’s also the Buddhist philosophy. I also wanted the chance to work with the directors.

This is your first English language film. How did it go?

I had a translator, but there were no obstacles to communication with the directors. The Wachowskis also have so many details and ideas that are unfathomable, so I don’t concern myself with them.

What was it like working with Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon and the other big names on the film?

The other actors were all very easygoing, but also very focused. When you are on set, you don’t have a long time to chat.

Will “Cloud Atlas” be the first of many English-language films for you?

It’s not easy for Chinese actors to do foreign films, and it’s not easy for foreign actors to do Chinese films. But the decision on what film to do is not about the language. It’s about the story, script, cast and crew.

What else brings you to Davos?

I have an idea I want to test, for combining old peoples’ homes and orphanages. Old people are lonely without children, children are lonely without parents. Why not bring them together? I remember when I was in fifth grade I saw my grandfather die. There he was, lying motionless on the bed. I was close to my grandfather. He taught me how to write. I remember thinking, “If this is the end of life, that means we don’t have to take everything too seriously.” Children who grow up without seeing death don’t have that realization.

You’ve done a lot of different movie genres, from modern dramas like “The Equation of Love and Death” to historical pieces like “The Message.” How do they compare?

I don’t think about films in that way. Even though the stories are set in different periods of time, the same characters reappear. Different periods have different limitations, and the characters can or cannot do different things. But basically they are all human beings. So the spy in “The Message” could still be found today. Maybe today she would have a computer, maybe she would be doing corporate espionage, to steal a different message, but she would still be the same essential spy.

What roles are you hoping to play in the future?

I think the prototype of all the characters I’ve played so far is Hans Christian Andersen’s “Little Mermaid” — someone with a great heart to sacrifice. Maybe I should do more comedy, something which is a little lighter, with a sense of humor.

Which directors would you like to work with?

In China, we think that if you want something to happen you don’t talk about it. So I will keep who I want to work with as my secret.